Current and former athletes, marketers and handlers hustled briskly from spot to spot on Mall of America's Super Bowl radio row Thursday, promoting everything from deodorant to toilet paper to jewelry.
The claustrophobia was matched only by the pace and the search for successful product placement. Most of it was done with understanding and reasonable intentions, but it certainly adds to the corporate feel of America's largest sports event.
The antidote arrived Thursday morning, though, with the fresh faces of Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and his girlfriend, Erika Cardona. They sat down quietly at the Star Tribune table, having just arrived on the row and looking a bit overwhelmed.
They were promoting something, sure, but get this: It's a children's book titled "Little Bear Teddy," authored by Cardona that is, in fact, inspired by Bridgewater's rise to the NFL.
Cardona said she's had the idea for several years but decided to start the project after Bridgewater's major knee injury before the 2016 season.
"It helped us actually get through the injury. When he got injured I got injured because I had to see him go through that," Cardona said. "[Teddy] was never really too high, never really too low. That's just how Teddy is. Even in the lowest points, he's trying to remain positive and calm."
That mentality is conveyed in the bear character in the book.
"A lot of people who know me consider me an old soul and guy with a lot of wisdom," Bridgewater said. "I credit that to my grandmother. I was at one point the youngest grandchild. My mom would work, my cousins would go to school, my brother and sister would go to school, and I'd be left with my grandparents. I think I inherited a lot of her traits. And watching my mom and what she went through it helped me develop the mentality to always be positive."
